Sarasota Walmart decision eagerly awaited

Merchants and some nearby residents say they would welcome a proposed Supercenter in the Ringling Shopping Center.

By JUSTINE GRIFFIN

Levoie's Salads & Sandwiches has a new sticker boldly pressed into its counter. It reads "I love Walmart."

Next door, the owner of Arcadi's Shoe Repair wears a similar banner on his worn leather apron each day.

Down the row of small Ringling Boulevard shops near Lime Avenue, the staff at Cristy's Custom Sewing shop can't wait for the possible appearance of the world's biggest retailer.

All three small merchants are energized that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. might build a 98,000-square-foot Supercenter across the street in the near desolate Ringling Shopping Plaza.

Though many residents have protested the Arkansas-based retailers plans, store owners in the area have a generally favorable view of what could be their competition. They maintain that the area has devolved since Publix Super Markets Inc. abandoned the aging shopping center in favor of a new store on South Tamiami Trail, former site of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

"I moved to this area because I could shop and walk home to my house," said Mary Shields, who originally opened Cristy's Custom Sewing, now owned by her daughter. "This neighborhood will be destroyed if something doesn't move in here and soon."

Commission decision Tuesday

On Tuesday, the Sarasota City Commission will decide whether the store can go forward in the face of a residents' group's appeal.

More than 100 citizens and business owners flooded the commission chambers last week to make arguments for and against the store, which would operate round the clock near a residential area.

Residents worry that the retail giant will bring unwanted traffic and excess noise, but business owners contend the area needs more patrons — customers that would be attracted by Walmart.

"This place is a ghost town. It never used to be like this," said Dexter Arcadi, owner of the shoe repair shop that bears his name and has operated since 1992.

"I remember 10 to 15 years ago, when this part of town was busy all the time," Arcadi said. "But that was before development started moving out toward the interstate."

Some patrons, too, said they support the supercenter's entrance.

George Browning, an attorney in Sarasota, uses Cristy's, the barbershop next to it and often eats at Levoie's.

"I'd hate to see these businesses go under," he said. "This area hasn't been a hot spot for commercial activity in some time," Browning said. "They could use the traffic."

Few business owners worried

Few business owners seem worried that Walmart's entrance could hurt their business the way small businesses suffered for miles around when a Walmart store opened in 2006 on the west side of Chicago, according to a study by Loyola University.

"The relationship to distance was particularly strong for establishments in electronics, toys, office supplies, general merchandise, hardware, home furnishings and drugs," the study found.

Walmart countered that it helped attract two dozen new businesses to the Chicago neighborhood.

Already, some businesses are bracing for the competition, but say they will remain open.

"The Save-A-Lot in Sarasota will continue with business as usual and focus on its customers' needs," said Chon Thomlin, a spokeswoman for the grocery chain, which occupies a spot in the aging Colonial Village shopping center, on North Lime Avenue across Fruitville Road. "New competitors move in all the time, and we believe this market can host more than one company in the area."

Likewise, a Family Dollar store in the same plaza has no plans to move or change its business strategy, said spokeswoman Bryn Winburn. The chain recently expanded its grocery selections and will compete with Walmart on price.

"There are many communities around the country in which we are in direct competition from other big box retailers," she said.

Melva Hipps said her salad and sandwich shop will benefit from Walmart as will and other struggling businesses nearby.

"Anything is better than the empty plaza we have over there now," Hipps said.

Drawing a crowd

Ringling Shopping Plaza is crowded with cars during most weekdays, but that's not because people are shopping.

Instead, people use the lot to park for jury duty and business inside the Sarasota County court complex, just down Ringling Boulevard.

At night, Arcadi said buildings around the nearly vacant center are targets for vandalism and other crime. He said he believes Walmart would help by providing additional lights and security that would benefit the entire area.

"I can't even tell you how many times we've had to clean and repaint the walls on the back of this building," he said.